Community Corner

Woodinville Woman Creating Baby Shoes to Help Educate Kenyan Children

Chantal Garceau from Woodinville created Chantal's Little Shoes, a company that creates baby shoes, with the proceeds go to help orphans in Kenya.

 

Chantal Garceau commands my attention from the moment I walk into her Woodinville home with her bold personality, confident demeanor and the way she moves from one room to another, almost gliding.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” I decline, and she makes one for herself. On the island in her kitchen sits a multi-layered cake stand with tiny handmade baby shoes. Her kitchen table is an organized mess of leather soles, fabric, a clipboard tracking inventory and even more shoes. 

Garceau runs Chantal’s Little Shoes from her home with the help of a few volunteers. The shoes are designed for babies from newborn to 24 months, they come in 16 styles and each pair costs $35. But that’s only half the story.

The kicker is that the proceeds from each pair of shoes sold go to support an orphan in Kenya for one month. 

Garceau donates almost all of her profits to the Imani Project, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore. The organization provides resources and assistance to villagers in Kenya to better educate community members about HIV and AIDS prevention. The Imani Project also provides opportunities for sponsorship. For a $30 donation, an orphan is able to school and gets essential medication for a month. 

“Every time I sell a pair of shoes, it’s a month of sponsorship,” said Garceau. “If I sell 12 shoes, that’s a year.” 

Since the project’s inception in January of 2011, Chantal’s Little Shoes has donated over $2,300 to the Imani Project. 

How the project started 

Garceau has been making baby shoes on and off for years as a hobby, giving them to friends and family. 

“People kept telling me to start my own business … I would be making a dollar an hour,” she said. 

Last Christmas, after learning about the Imani Project from her sister-in-law, who serves on the non-profit’s board of directors, Garceau decided to sponsor a child in Kenya, 15-year-old Linet. 

“Linet is a very bright girl,” said Garceau. “She’s very determined to be educated.” 

After deciding to sponsor an orphan herself, it didn’t take long for the idea of Chantal’s Little Shoes to form. 

“My sister-in-law and I were sitting on the couch and doing the sponsorship stuff on the computer and I thought, this is what I’m going to do,” said Garceau. “I’m going to make shoes; I’m going to give the money away.” 

The first five months of 2011 were devoted to designing the shoes and laying the foundation for the project. Garceau launched her line on Etsy in May of 2011, and over a year later, Chantal’s Little Shoes helps to sponsor five children in Kenya. 

“Once you start sponsoring children, it’s a lifetime responsibility,” said Garceau. “It came just at the right time for me.” 

Garceau’s life experiences were building blocks that helped get Chantal’s Little Shoes started. 

Originally from Montreal, where she designed merchandise for a ski wear company, Garceau moved to Woodinville in 1986 and had twin daughters shortly after. She taught high school French at the  in Redmond for ten years. 

“Education is really important,” she said. It is one of the reasons why she decided to work with the Imani Project. “I like sponsoring the kids that are in school, so they can stay in school.” 

After her daughters left for college, Garceau had a decision to make. 

“When your kids leave home, you have to redefine who you are,” she said. “Once the girls left for college, it just took me awhile to decide what I wanted to do.” 

Garceau started Chantal’s Little Shoes “just at the right time.” She finds inspiration for her designs from her own life. The most popular shoe, Rosie Dog, is modeled after the family’s dog. 

Garceau also had the opportunity to go to Africa, but decided against it. “I was scared,” she said. Garceau believes that in pursuing a cause such as sponsoring orphans, “you have to find something where you’re fearless.” In running Chantal’s Little Shoes, she is fearless. 

The Next Step

Garceau has been researching and trying to find new avenues to sell the merchandise. She has decided to focus her efforts on corporate sales. 

According to Garceau, if she can accommodate 20 clients, that would secure sponsorship for the kids and she wouldn’t have to promote sales. Garceau has already secured three deals through her corporate custom shoe program. 

“It reflects well on the company,” she said. 

Nonetheless, she continues to work on the regular line with her volunteers. Every other Wednesday, at 6 p.m., Garceau hosts a “light supper” for the volunteers at her home. If volunteers can’t come to the dinner, she hosts a luncheon the following day at noon. 

They socialize, make shoes and support the cause. Garceau works around a theme. “People really want to get involved,” said Garceau. “We all take it very seriously because everybody feels strongly about the end product being very nice.” 

This summer, Garceau will take on an intern and she hopes to develop a website. 

“We’re always looking for volunteers,” she said. “You don’t have to be crafty to be involved.” 

For more information, check out Chantal’s Little Shoes Facebook Page, or Chantal’s Little Shoes Website or Chantal’s Little Shoes Etsy Store.


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